


The Ghoul's Assassin

by hidekaneheadcanons



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, Assassin!Hide, Blacksmith!Kaneki, Hide Big Bang, M/M, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, Some Fluff, Washuu!Hide, ghoul!Kaneki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-04 19:23:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14600013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hidekaneheadcanons/pseuds/hidekaneheadcanons
Summary: Hide's attempted kidnapping is thwarted when ghouls attack the caravan he is being held in. Out of money and trying to get home, Hide becomes an assistant for a small-town blacksmith. This blacksmith just so happens to be one of the ghouls who inadvertently saved Hide's life. As the two become closer, Hide becomes more and more uneasy about keeping his past life a secret.





	The Ghoul's Assassin

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is what I've been doing for the past few months!
> 
> [Please check out this amazing work of art by beacvl on tumblr!](https://beacvl.tumblr.com/image/174080606394)

The slight chill in the air made Hide shiver as he walked up the stone steps to Takatsuki Sen’s home, a thick blanket folded over his right arm. It was a long climb, one he would have expected when visiting a temple or a castle, except it only led to a modest sized home set into a thick forest just outside of a farming community. As he climbed, his thighs burning slightly, and the sounds of the forest came alive as the sun set.

Hide generally didn’t like being out at night. It wasn’t safe, especially for a merchant, but some of his clients required him to meet them at strange times. Takatsuki was one of those clients. She was usually slept through the day and worked at night by candlelight, bent over one of her latest stories with ink smudged across her fingers and occasionally across her face. She was somewhat of a dishevelled shut-in, but her home was surprisingly clean. Expensive, too. She was one of Hide’s regular clients, requesting expensive items from far away locations. Sometimes it was jewellery, other times special inks, and this time it was a plush blanket from a northern country, which was famous for its soft fabrics and bright patterns.

Hide could have groaned in relief when he reached the top of the stairs. He stepped up onto the patio and gave a short rap on the wooden sliding door. There was some shuffling inside, then the door slide open and Takatsuki was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

She blinked at him for a few moments. “Come on in.”

She stepped to the side and Hide toed off his shoes in the doorway and murmured, “Pardon the intrusion.” Hide smiled brightly. “How has the latest novel been coming?”

“As they always do.” She rubbed at her eyes, frowning to herself.

Hide sat on the floor on one side of the low table, while Takatsuki sat on a plush red cushion. “Your vision still getting worse?” Hide asked. Takatsuki had nearsightedness, and Hide swore working in dim candlelight each night wasn’t helping the issue.

Takatsuki shrugged. “It’s good enough. I can still work.” She waved a hand dismissively. “More importantly, may I see the blanket?” She gestured to it, then pushed her messy bangs back with her fingers.

Hide nodded and laid it out on the table, seeing as it didn’t have any ink on it. Takatsuki must have cleaned. She always seemed to know exactly when he was going to show up. She ran her fingers over the material, humming softly.

“It’s well made. Is it still the price we discussed earlier?”

“I managed to get myself a discount on it. I could offer you one as well?” He would still be making a substantial profit anyway.

“That won’t be necessary.” Takatsuki laid her hand on top of the blanket, her palm flat. Her eyebrows pinched together in feigned contemplation.

“Then is there anything else you’d like me to do for you?” Takatsuki often had something else catch her eye before Hide came to see her again, so it wasn’t odd for her to give him another job each time he came.

“There is actually.” Takatsuki shifted and reached behind her and pulled a scroll and a pouch from a shelf. She handed the scroll to Hide, who paused before he took it. She was silent as he rolled it open.

A picture drawn with black ink. A description beside it. There was more writing below, most likely the specifics of how the job was to be carried out. Hide didn’t bother reading it. He rolled the scroll back up and handed it to Takatsuki.

“You know I don’t take these anymore.”

“I do know. Which is why I send my requests to others in your family. This was actually a request from your brother, for you specifically.” She slid Hide the scroll again. “You might as well take it with you. I have no use for it.”

Takatsuki handed Hide the pouch, which was heavy with coins. It felt too heavy. Hide would count them later. She stood and made her way to the door, Hide following obediently.

“As for other jobs, I have none at the moment. Next time you’re in the area, stop by.” Takatsuki gave him a short bow. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

Hide returned the gesture. “As always.”

He slid his shoes back on and stepped back outside. The sky was tinged a dark red, faded into an even darker blue. No light from the sun on the horizon made it through the thick canopy of trees. Hide sighed softly and started his descent. The dark made him twitchy, but carrying a lantern with him would make him a beacon of light for more than just insects. He could see the small town at the bottom of the hill, though looking how far down he had to travel made Hide inclined to call it a damn mountain.

At the bottom of the mountain the forest gave way to fields. Stepping out from the shadow of the dark canopy, the sun cast just enough light for Hide to see. He paused, unfurled the scroll and curiously read what it had to say.

 _Kamishiro Rize_  
_Age: 20_  
_Hair: Violet_  
_Eyes: Red_  
_Height: 164cm_  
_Build: Light_  
_Alias: Binge Eater_  
_Description: The Binge Eater is an S rated rinkaku ghoul of unknown origins. The mass of victims disappearing from the north-eastern part of the county near the coast indicate she may be located in the twentieth sector_. That was nearby.  
_Wanted dead_.

Below, there was a large quantity offered for her assassination.

Hide was done. He told Arima he was done two years ago, so why was he being sent an assassination request? He wouldn’t take it. He refused to. He didn’t want to get blood on his hands anymore. The job was too big of a risk. Not only for himself. Hide couldn’t always be sure the requests he took were for criminals, no matter what the accusations on the assassination request said. Sometimes, the people killed were innocent. Wrongfully accused.

Hide wouldn’t be the person who took their lives.

He rolled up the scroll and angrily shoved it into his pocket, starting to walk again. When he got back to his room at the inn, he would throw the damned thing in the fire. He trudged forward, walking as smoothly as possible so that the coins in the pouch wouldn’t jingle.

He kept walking towards the village, night fast approaching. Everything seemed normal. Nothing was out of place. However, Hide couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. Trusting his instincts, Hide reached into his boot and pulled out a short blade.

There were the sound of running footsteps on the path behind him, coming from the forest. Hide jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the club that was crudely swung at his head. Hide took a few steps back, putting some distance between him and the three men attacking him. Two of them had clubs and the other – a sword. Hide squinted at it. The blade looked dulled, one side was rusted. It fit awkwardly in the man’s hand. Not a swordsman then. Just a man with a sword. Hide could handle that.

There was a heartbeat, then they attacked Hide again. Hide dodged effortlessly. They may have been bigger and stronger, but Hide was quick and used to dealing with stronger opponents. He may have been slightly out of practice, but he was trained by the best. That type of knowledge and muscle memory didn’t just disappear.

The man with the sword attacked and Hide parried, even though he hardly needed to. The man’s attack was shallow and aimed at Hide’s stomach. It was more likely to nick him than disembowel him. The man attacked again, aiming for Hide’s legs.

Non-lethal attacks. They didn’t want to kill him. Why?

One of the men with a club attempted to attack him from behind, but Hide spun away, sticking out his leg to trip him as he went past. To give him credit, the man recovered quickly, coming up swinging again, but Hide ducked his next swing.

If they weren’t going to kill Hide, then he supposed he would offer them the same consideration. Not that it wouldn’t hurt.

Hide switched from defending to attacking, using his superior speed to slip under the man’s guard and delivered a left punch to his nose. He felt the sickening crunch of bone and blood spurted out. Hide took the hilt of his sword and drove it into the man’s temple, making him crumple at his feet.

The other two men paused, but Hide was already on the move, going after the one with the sword first. Hide raised his own to strike downwards. The man’s eyes widened and he raised his sword to block, but Hide was already changing directions, spinning around him and slicing low, cutting the backs of his thighs to sever the hamstrings. There was a shout of pain. Then he fell too.

Hide turned on the last one of them.

The adrenaline pumping through Hide made him smile. He may have not liked killing, but the thrill of a fight wasn’t lost to him. He was a long time since he was able to use the skills he spent a lifetime developing.

Too lost in the fight, Hide didn’t notice the fourth set of footsteps approaching until he was already engaging with the last man with a club. He dodged the swing to his head, but he didn’t dodge the kick that flew out a second later. Already in motion, Hide couldn’t change his direction fast enough to avoid it. He sucked in a sharp breath when the kick connected with his side. Hide crashed to the ground. He gritted his teeth against the pain and attempted to stand again.

“Useless,” the new man muttered – no, boy. He had to be a few years younger than Hide. His young face was twisted with a scowl. “I can’t trust you damn people to do anything right.” The man with the club almost seemed to cower. Then the boy kicked again – fast. Faster than seemed humanly possible. Hide had no time to move – the kick connected – then everything went dark.

~<3<3<3~

The fires in the lanterns flickered as they traveled down the beaten path, the thick trees looming over them. Hide stared out of the barred windows, shifting to try to get into a more comfortable position, even if it was impossible. He felt every bump and hole the caravan went over bone deep and had the bruises to show for it. There were a three others inside with him, their mouths gagged and their wrists tied to wooden posts with rope – just like his.

There was a woman with fiery red hair, her face almost a bright with fever as the wounds on her wrists from the prolonged binding had festered. Her condition had worsened throughout the trip. There was a man who had to be only a few years older than Hide who eyed her with worry. Tears marks stained his cheeks. The woman had tried to escape shortly after she was captured. That attempt resulted in bruises over her face and torso. Hide assumed the man with tear marks down his face was her boyfriend. Hide wondered why they were captured.

Hide had his own theories why he was captured. He found it impossible to not think about it. He definitely wasn’t taken for ransom. If they wanted money, they got enough of it off Hide. His pouch of coins were missing, and so were the few pieces of jewellery he had yet to sell to one of his clients.

In addition, most people didn’t know about his past with assassination, nor had he made a kill in a long time, so it was unlikely anyone was looking for revenge. As far as Hide knew, there was no hit put out on him.

Hide suspected the kidnappers only was only knew of him as a simple merchant. And while Hide had a slick tongue, he didn’t think he pissed of anyone enough to get kidnapped. The most likely reason would be to be sold for manual labour, after all, he had no family or really close friends that would put up too much of a ruckus from his sudden disappearance. There would be no one to look for him. But then again, Hide wasn’t really suited for manual labour. He only had just barely enough muscles to lug his goods around.

Another thought prodded the edge of Hide’s mind. The Binge Eater. Victims were kidnapped in the nearby area, but what was the chance Hide was to become one of those victims? Unlikely. Hide made himself to be a difficult target. Binge Eaters weren’t known to be picky about their food. If the kidnappers didn’t want Hide specifically, they wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to get him. And then there was the boy as well. He was too skilled to be wasting his time with random kidnappings. No, he was most likely hired to take Hide out.

Damn, maybe he actually did have a bounty on his head?

However, what confused Hide was that even if he was specifically kidnapped, that didn’t seem to be true for the other people in the cart. The fourth person in the cart – a white-haired man – Hide saw get captured. Hide heard the moment it happened. They came across him as they traveled the secluded forest road. It was never a good idea to travel alone at night, especially so far from town. The kidnappers pointed their blades at him, bound him, and forced him into the cart with everyone else. Hide noticed he didn’t struggle, his face blank and almost resigned. He didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he sat in the corner of the cart willing and let the kidnappers bind him. He hadn’t moved from that position since then.

Hide stared at the scratch marks on the wall and decided any attempt of escape for a normal person was probably futile. He would have to free himself first, but he didn’t know if the kidnappers reinforced the door to keep them from getting out. In addition, there were the half-dozen men around the cart that he would have to escape even if he did get out of the cart. He had to plan it through and catch them of guard. He was sure the men in addition to the three that initially attacked Hide would be of about the same skill level. If he did things right, he had a chance of pulling it off.

Hide shifted closer to the pole, shifting to one side of it. He reached around with his hands, feeling for the small blade hidden in a secret pocket in the back of the waistband of his pants. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt that it was still there. They hadn’t found it. He maneuvered it into his hand, wincing when he accidently cut the tip of his index finger. Once he finally had it held correctly, he set to work – slowly, but steadily cutting the rope and freeing his wrists.

The fourth captive’s stomach growled and Hide tried to ignore his own hunger that made his stomach twist painfully. They hadn’t been given food since they were captured. And only a little water. It left Hide feeling weak and lightheaded.

They were coming up on a town again. Then kidnappers quieted down and doused most of the torches, moving quietly. The trees were beginning to thin out and the moon filtered through the trees, some light making it into the cart through the barred windows.

The fourth captive raised his head and for the first time Hide saw his face clearly – blood vessels tight around his eyes. Hide saw the red pupils – the black sclera –and could only mental curse before the bindings that held the man were broken. The man tore the gag out of his mouth, his lips curved upwards in a smile.

The next second everything broke into chaos. There were screams from outside – screams of pain, screams of agony, screams of fear. The ghoul in the cart effortlessly kicked open the door and jumped out. The doors swung shut, but not before he saw a woman with dark hair – her face buried in a screaming man’s neck. His screams turned into gurgles as she pulled back, tearing flesh away with her teeth.

Hide was filled with morbid curiosity – he never saw a ghoul eat before. However, he hastily finished cutting his binding. He shoved the gag down so that he could talk, then hurried over to where the other two terrified prisoners were tied up.

“I’m going to free you,” Hide rushed out. “I need you to run as fast as you can. There’s a town nearby. The ghouls are distracted. We should be able to make it.”

“She can’t run,” the man hastily murmured when Hide removed his gag, gesturing to the red-headed women.

“Then can you carry her?” Hide asked impatiently.

“I can try.”

Hide cut his bindings, then went and freed the woman. The man gathered her in his arms and then gave Hide a short nod. They made their way to the door, Hide pressing his ear against it. It had grown quieter outside. Hesitantly, Hide peeked out.

There was blood everywhere. There were bodied scattered around. There were a few of them that had a person crouched over them. The only sound Hide could hear was the sound of chewing and tearing flesh. Hide glanced back at the captives and pressed a single finger to his lips.

Quietly, they exited the cart. Hide hoped that the ghouls were distracted enough by their kills that they didn’t decide to add a few more bodies to the massacre. As the three of them edged away, Hide suspected he was right. No one tried to stop them. No one so much as raised their head from their meals.

They made it to the coverage of the forest, but they couldn’t relax just yet. The breathing of the captives that were with Hide was ragged with exhaustion and fear. It was practically a miracle they weren’t noticed yet. Any wrong step and they could snap a branch and make enough noise to alert the ghouls back on the road. Hide watched every footstep he made and told the others to do the same. It was going well and they were making progress away from the scene. However, after a few more steps Hide stopped abruptly, seeing a faint footprint just beside his own foot.

Someone already came this way.

Hide took a deep, calming breath, hoping the footprint was days old, but part of him knew that it wasn’t. He held up his hand, turned around and mouthed, ‘wait.’ He had to make sure their path was clear before they continued. He edged around some foliage. In the dark, he didn’t notice the way the green leaves were tinged with red. He heard the tearing of flesh just before he emerged from the bushes and almost tripped over the body.

The ghoul that was in the cart with them earlier was crouched over the body, his face smeared with blood. Hide stiffened. He didn’t dare move. He had some hope that the ghoul didn’t notice him – that he could just slip away –

The ghoul raised his eyes, staring right at Hide.

Hide was sure he was dead. He had no weapon other than the small blade he used to cut his bindings and that wouldn’t do shit – if anything it would just piss the ghoul off. Any moment he was expecting for the ghoul to lunge for his throat and the most he could hope for was a quick death, that the ghoul would kill him before it started eating him.

They started at each other for a long moment, their eyes locked. The ghoul didn’t move, and neither did Hide. The ghoul lowered his eyes, and if Hide wasn’t mistaken, he looked ashamed. Then, he dropped his head and continued to feast.

Hide backed up, his heart in his throat, and returned to where the two others were waiting. Hide waved for them to follow him, then they continued to move through the forest: towards town, away from ghouls feasting at the cart and away from the ghoul feasting in the forest. Though Hide was incredibly glad for his life, he felt uneasy from what he saw.

~<3<3<3~

Curled up under a tree just outside of town, Hide longed for the blanket he sold Takatsuki only two weeks earlier. He dreamed of it. Winter was fast approaching, and it wasn’t a good time to be caught outside with hardly enough clothing to fend off the cold. Hide didn’t even have enough money for an inn. Nor did he have enough money to catch a ride home. All his money was stolen and so were all his goods. He had some money hidden away back at home, but that was useless unless he could actually make it back there.

All Hide had on him was a bruised apple and a rusty knife, both complements of his sticky fingers. Any and all attempts of getting work were failures. People were willing to give him food and lodging in exchange for hard labour, but no one was willing to pay him any money.

He ended up moving on to a bigger town – he walked all day and all night to get there too, despite the risks. And still, nothing. There were more businesses, but no one seemed to be hiring, even for part-time assistants. Hide dropped in on a few places, to see if anyone wanted to take him on, but no luck. People in towns like these didn’t like to hire people they didn’t know, and Hide wasn’t known by anyone.

The fact that he hadn’t been able to clean up for the past while didn’t help. He really needed a bath.

He came to his last stop of the day. The town’s only blacksmith. It was a pretty small place, a few metal tools displayed in the front on metal hooks. There was a small wooden sign beside them saying it was open. Hesitantly, Hide stepped inside, hearing the chimes hung on the door jingle as it was slid shut. It was different than Hide expected. The forges that he knew were filled with different people, all working together to make swords and various types of weaponry.

This one had a wooden counter at the front and a large, open doorway leading back to the forge. A guy swung through it after a few moments, wiping some soot off himself with a cloth towel and a bored expression. With a start, Hide realized he knew him, though his face was smeared with blood the last time he saw him. The ghoul from the caravan stared back at him, his eyes widening minutely as he froze. Obviously, he recognized Hide as well.

“Um,” Hide muttered eloquently.

The ghoul didn’t say anything, but tilted his head in question, looking wary. Was he waiting for Hide to say something more? Or, knowing the way the general public thought of ghouls, probably waiting for Hide to run out the front door screaming bloody murder. The longer the silence drew on, the more confused the ghoul looked, though he remained wary the entire time.

Not knowing what do to, Hide just stuck with his initial goal, hoping it wasn’t that bad of an idea. “I’m looking for part time work. Just something temporary. Enough to make me some money to get back home.” After all, he was still alive, wasn’t he? If this ghoul wanted to kill him, he had the prime opportunity before. Hide might be able to push just a little.

“I don’t hire anyone.” The ghoul stated flatly, still looking confused. “It’s best you go and try to look elsewhere.” He turned around, like he was going to head back to the forge, but Hide rushed to speak again.

“I kind of already have. It hasn’t worked out so well. I’m desperate. I wouldn’t be trying to convince you to give me a job if I wasn’t. It’s going to start snowing in like – a couple weeks. I’m literally going to die if I have to keep sleeping outside.” Hide paused. The ghoul’s back was to him, but he was still and silent, so Hide took it as a sign that he could continue. “You could send me out for materials, pick-ups, deliveries. I could help keep things clean too, even if it’s just household chores. That way you’d have more time to do more work and you wouldn’t have to step out to buy something if you ran out of it. You could just send me.”

“I already told you, I don’t hire anyone.” The words were sharp and definite, like there was no argument to be made.

So, Hide took a different approach. “Is that because you’re a ghoul?” The ghoul stiffened at Hide’s statement, but Hide continued, keeping his voice steady. “It’s hardly an issue for me. I already know, and I’m not going to tell anyone.”

The ghoul turned sharply and strode around the counter, stepping past Hide to the door. He yanked it open, grabbed the ‘open’ sign from outside and shut it again, flicking the lock closed. Hide felt his stomach drop as the ghoul casually leaned against the wall by the door, blocking Hide’s only known escape route. He eyed Hide, his expression dark and angry, though those emotions hardly did anything to hide the fear the ghoul shoved under them.

“And how can I be sure of that? How do I know I won’t wake up tomorrow with the entire town knowing what I am and what I do?”

“Uh – because I’m not an idiot and do actually have some level of self-preservation, despite coming here.” Hide raised a hand when the ghoul made a face and attempted to interrupt him. “You’re clearly not alone here. There were a number of you that attacked a caravan. So, if I did reveal who you are – which I wouldn’t – I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make it a week without one of your friends coming for my blood – or flesh, I guess. Which, I mean, I kind of like living. And sabotaging your life is probably the worst thing I could do for mine.”

“That is true.” The ghoul relaxed a little. “It would be a bad idea.”

“Yeah. And while I know coming here may not have been a great idea.” The ghoul’s eyebrows rose. “Okay, maybe not even a good idea, but I really don’t have a better option. If I did, I wouldn’t be here asking for help. And I really do need help.” Hide let some of his desperation slip into his tone.

He saw the ghoul’s expression soften. “Are there really no other options…?”

“I’ve tried just about every place in town.”

The ghoul rubbed his chin with a contemplated expression. “I do kind of need some help around here...”

Hide perked up at his words. “So am I hired?”

“I guess.” The ghoul shrugged his shoulders. “You can stay here if you need to. I have a spare room. But get yourself cleaned up before you touch anything. You stink.” The ghoul stepped around the counter and pulled out a small pouch. He shook some coins out of it and handed them to Hide. “There’s a public bathhouse down the road. Please use it. I’ll get you some clean cloths as well.” He walked off, leaving Hide feeling an odd sense of hope blooming.

~<3<3<3~

Hide headed right back to what he would be considering home for the next few weeks right after his bath, feeling much better now that his skin was clean and he was wearing fresh clothes. He walked down the hard-packed dirt streets, humming to himself. People were bustling around, heading home after a long day, or heading to the baths to clean up and gossip. There were hushed whispers and the occasional laugh, but it was quiet enough that Hide could hear the swishing of skirts against the ground and the clacking of poorly made shoes.

Hide’s stomach growled and he eyed the closing street vendors. It was a long time since Hide got an actual meal, and the ghoul – Kaneki, as he told Hide – only gave him enough money for the bath, nothing else. Hide really hoped Kaneki wouldn’t forget that he needed to eat.

Hide came to the door to Kaneki’s home and workplace, his fist raised as if to knock. After a moment, he shrugged and dropped it. He opened the door, glad he hadn’t come back to it being locked. Looked like Kaneki was genuine in his offer to help Hide.

“I’m back,” Hide called. He toed his shoes off by the door, but paused when he smelt something cooking. Hide wandered until he managed to find the living room, where Kaneki was standing over an irori, cooking rice and grilling fish. He didn’t even glance up when Hide walked into the room and kneeled on the floor beside the irori, holding his hands out for warmth.

There were two thin mats set out by the fire with warm looking blankets folded over them. The thought of sleeping beside a fire and actually being warm for the night made Hide even happier than the promise of food. And there was a quite a bit of it too and it smelt incredible. Kaneki was shoveling rice into a large bowl, then laid the fish over it and wordlessly handed it to Hide. His mouth was watering.

“Don’t eat too quickly and make yourself sick.” Kaneki murmured, anticipating the way Hide was planning to stuff his face.

Hide pouted and attempted to pace himself, thinking it wouldn’t be the best idea to throw up all over the floor on his first night rooming with Kaneki. So he sat and took his time while Kaneki leafed through a book. It felt both entirely calm and entirely awkward. It was way too quiet. And the silence made Hide think about how strange the day had truly been. He was living with and working for a ghoul. A ghoul, which Hide saw feasting on a corpse only a couple weeks earlier. Which really made him wonder…

“Hey Kaneki, why did you attack that caravan?” Hide spoke around a mouthful of food and saw Kaneki cringe. Noted. Did he not like the question because he didn’t like talking about being a ghoul, or was there a specific reason related to the caravan? Or maybe he was just annoyed with Hide talking with food in his mouth.

“I’m not answering that,” Kaneki said. He lowered his book and raised his eyebrows. “Why? Were you that eager to go with them?”

“No.” Obviously not. “it’s just – I want to know why I was taken.” It’d been bothering him. He didn’t even know what they were going to do to him.

Kaneki frowned slightly. “For food.” Kaneki looked down at his book. “I personally don’t understand it. You look pretty stringy.” He made a face like the thought disgusted him.

“I’m half-inclined to feel offended over that.” Hide grinned. It was likely Kaneki’s way of assuring Hide that he wouldn’t be eaten for dinner.

Kaneki shrugged, but Hide could see the little quirk of his lips hidden under his impassive expression. “Feel however you want.”

Then Hide would feel grateful. He smiled and worked on finishing the pile of food Kaneki made for him. Which was nice – Hide really didn’t expect Kaneki to do that. He was also a little surprised Kaneki could cook – and so good too. Hide was feeling a little more optimistic about staying with Kaneki. Based on what Hide saw of him, he was thinking he was a good person.

Yet despite the high Hide was feeling, there was an undercurrent of worried anticipation. Someone wanted him dead. Hide saw no other reason for him to be attacked – him specifically – and sent off to ghouls for food. Nor, did he think that it was a coincidence that Arima sent Hide a request to kill Rize around the same time.

Hide finished his food and stood to go wash up, but Kaneki waved at him as he crawled under his blanket. “Leave it for the morning. You can start the day tomorrow by cleaning.”

Hide nodded and set the bowl aside. He laid down on his mat and pulled the blanket around him. It was nice and warm. Hide felt the first tendrils of sleep pulling at him.

“Hey, Kaneki?”

Kaneki groaned and answered. “What?”

“Why did you let yourself be captured too? You could have just killed them all before, couldn’t you?”

“I was out of town for some business. I needed a ride back.” Kaneki spoke tentatively. “We do whatever we can to not waste food. And I wouldn’t have been able to take the bodies back all by myself. Also, you and the other two victims would have been stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was better for everyone to escape close to a town.”

“Oh.” Hide mumbled. He was quiet. Honestly, he didn’t know how to respond to that. After a few moments, he spoke again. “Hey, Kaneki?”

A soft sigh. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for taking me in.”

There was a quiet sigh. “Go to sleep.”

And that? Was a request Hide was more than glad to fulfill.

~<3<3<3~

Hide fought the urge to skip around as he moved through the town. Kaneki finally let him out to do some deliveries to clients after a couple days of intensive training where Kaneki drilled information into his head about the type of equipment he made. Kaneki specified many times, no swords or any type of weapon – which were unfortunately the only type of forged material Hide was familiar with. He dealt with farming equipment and everyday household items. That was all. Kaneki made sure Hide was familiar with the equipment and their uses. He also made sure Hide knew about his clients and what they were like, what type of behavior was acceptable around them. That wasn’t something Hide worried about too much. He always was a people person.

He stopped at quite a few places. Kaneki clients were surprised to meet him, but not unpleased. Hide learned that Kaneki was fairly well-received by the community and many of his clients had high opinions of him and his work. Also, faith in whoever Kaneki decided to hire. Hide found the questions the locals asked about him a little uncomfortable. Where did he come from? Why did he move here? Did he have any family come with him? Any friends? Hide lied, deciding it would only make people suspicious if he avoided the questions. To them, Hide was a merchant’s son from the north, tired of traveling around and looking to settle down somewhere. He had no friends or family that came with him. His mother died from fever when he was young and let him with no siblings. And it was hard to make friends when he was traveling around with his father.

Aside from the prying questions, the day was okay. Hide was heading to his last stop of the day, just outside of town, a little farther out than Kaneki’s place was. Hide traveled down the dirt road to the Kosaka’s farm. It was a nice, little place. It was almost dwarfed by the large fields and the rolling hills behind it. Hide stepped up onto the porch and was about to announce himself when the sliding door opened and he was greeted by a woman a few years younger than him.

She had a soft smile on her face, but her eyes were wary.

“I’m doing some deliveries for Kaneki,” Hide said, holding out the hoe Kaneki repaired for the Kosakas. “Kaneki was wondering if you had any other tools you needed to have work on?”

Yoriko visibly relaxed. “Yes, there are a few things. Please come inside to wait while I go to the shed.”

When she went outside, Hide stood in place and took a moment to look around. People’s houses say a lot about them. For example: Kaneki’s house was clean and tidy, things all usually put in their proper places. Kaneki liked his house to be calm, not chatotic and filled with clutter. There was also a whole room filled with books and scrolls. It was the nicest room in the house and where Kaneki spent the most time when he wasn’t working on the forge or training Hide. He would lounge on some cushions and read, and Hide knew better than to bother him when he was there.

Yoriko’s house was surprisingly clean. It must have been meticulously cleaned every day to combat the dirt inevitably dragged in from the fields. There were some wildflowers on a table – probably retrieved before the first frost destroyed them. They were starting to wilt, but were no less beautiful. The whole home was also filled with the aroma of some type of food and spice, though Hide couldn’t put his finger on it. Though, it did smell good.

Yoriko came back a couple more minutes later. She gave Hide a leather sack and when he took it, he could feel the hard edges of the tools inside. “There just needs to be a few minor repairs done. The usual.”

Hide was getting ready to leave, but Yoriko waved her hand at him. “Come. I just made some tea. Try it with me.”

Hide sat at the table with the wilted flowers and waited as Yorkio came back with two clay cups and a teapot. She set a cup in front of Hide, then poured the tea for him. He waited for her to be finished pouring her own before he picked his up and took a sip. It was sweet with a bitter undercurrent and the flavour wasn’t too overwhelming or underwhelming.

“It’s good,” Hide said honestly. He curled his fingers around the cup, its warmth pleasant. “Thanks.”

Yoriko smiled and leaned forward. “I’m glad you like it.” She turned thoughtful then. “I remember, you asked my father last week if there was any part-time work you could do. I’m glad you found some. Especially with Kaneki. He’s kind.”

“He is,” Hide agreed. “Have you known him for a while?”

“Only a year or so. I met him through a friend of mine. She works at a tavern. He helped her look after a young girl back then, after she lost her parents.”

Hide blinked in surprise, but wasn’t exactly sure why. He knew Kaneki was kind. “What happened to her?”

“She still lives with my friend. I think she still goes over to Kaneki’s too. I’m told she likes his library.” Yoriko looked fond.

“It is pretty nice… If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to the parents?”

Yoriko bit her lip. “Ghouls. There have been some lurking in the forest here for a few years. There haven’t been as many deaths over the past couple, but…” She released her cup and clasped her hands together, her fingernails digging into the skin on the back of her hands.

They switched to lighter topics after than that, but Hide couldn’t get his mind off what he was just told. There was a sickening feeling in his stomach that forced him to acknowledge the possibility that it could have been Kaneki’s group that killed the girl’s parents. He didn’t want to consider the possibility, but he had to, even if he was dismissing the thought unless there was evidence.

Afterward, he headed back home. Kaneki was working at the forge, his white hair partially plastered to his forehead with sweat and his face pinched in concentration. When he finished what he was working on, he turned to face Hide.

Hide gave a small wave. “All the deliveries are done. Yorkio sent a few more things over for the usual.” Hide put the sack on the counter.

“I’ll work on them tomorrow.” Kaneki wiped his hands on a rag. “Are you getting hungry?”

“A little.” Hide would have cooked for himself, if Kaneki let him. But, Kaneki claimed he was the only one in the house allowed to use fire for anything.

“I’ll be done in a bit. You should take some time to rest until then. You did a lot today.”

Hide decided he wasn’t too sore from all the walking around and decided to check out Kaneki’s library. It was on the opposite side of the house from the forge, Kaneki probably trying to keep the books and the scrolls as far away from the fire as possible. He checked some of them, surprised from the pure variety. There was everything from stories, to scientific and philosophical musings. Hide noticed that while the place was well cleaned, some of the books and scrolls were beginning to collect dust. Knowing that Kaneki liked things cleaned, he took the time to meticulously clean the books and set them back in their proper place.

After a while, Kaneki came to get him. Hide could see his surprise when he saw what he was doing, but Hide also saw him smile before he turned his back and told Hide that dinner was ready and to hurry up.

~<3<3<3~

A couple days passed and Kaneki was just as quiet as ever, though Hide managed to get a few more smiles out of him. It was the small things, like cleaning and looking after the library or waking up before Kaneki on some days to lay out some clothes for him or going to draw some water for Kaneki’s morning coffee. Kaneki appreciated it. Hide could tell. Especially when Kaneki was sitting at the irori with his bedhead, looking thoroughly happy simply making and drinking his coffee.

Kaneki also trusted Hide a little more, knowing that Hide won’t fuck things up when Kaneki sent him to a client. Hide subtly tried to get more information about Kaneki when seeing them, but heard nothing new.

He finished the tools for Yoriko one evening, asking if Hide could deliver them before the sun went down. Hide agreed and set off as quickly as he could, eager to see her, but also eager to get back to Kaneki’s. The dark unnerved him more and more recently. While Hide liked to pretend he was immune to what happened to him, with the kidnapping and all, he certainly wasn’t. Former assassin or not, he had someone who wanted him dead. Just about every shadow made him jump and it only worsened when the streets began to empty.

The sun was setting by the time he made it there and he was happy he would be able to make it home before it got dark even if he spent some time talking with Yoriko. She invited him in for tea again. Thankfully, like last time, she started the conversation about Kaneki.

“What is it like living with him?” She ran her finger along the rim of her cup.

Hide tapped his chin. “A little weird. It’s nice, being able to stay in one place instead of moving around all the time with my father. And Kaneki – is great to live with and great to work with too. I really couldn’t ask for more.”

“My friend – Touka – has told me before that he has a habit of looking after people, even if it’s not in his best interests.” Yoriko glanced up and waved her hands quickly. “Not that I’m saying that about you. It’s just that…” Yoriko sighed. “He’s kind to a default. I’m sure you know that by now.” Yoriko looked at him then, far more serious than Hide had yet to see her. “You won’t take advantage of him, will you?”

“Of course not. I owe him.” Hide shook his head. “Have people taken advantage of him before?”

“I don’t know. Touka didn’t tell me. She seemed pretty upset, but it was hard to tell.”

“This friend of yours, she’s known him for a while?”

Yoriko hesitated. “I actually don’t know. I think she’s known him for about as long as I have, but she knows him better. He used to go to the tavern frequently when he didn’t have quite as much work as he does now.”

Hide tapped the side of his cup thoughtfully. “I hope Kaneki and I can become friends. It’s a little awkward right now, since he’s technically my employer and everything, but once I’m back on my feet, I’m hoping I could keep hanging out with him.”

“I think he would like that,” Yoriko said. “He seems kind of lonely sometimes. He kind of reminds me of my friend in that way.”

“What’s your friend like?”

Yoriko hummed. “I’ve known her since we were kids. She’s always been sort of closed off and rude to others, but she’s actually quite kind when you get to know her. She cares a lot and gets upset easily because of how much she cares. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, but she’s pretty close with the ones she does make. Me, Kaneki, and a few other people that also work at the tavern.”

Hide fought the urge to frown as he thought. Kaneki didn’t really trust humans, so he doubted that he would willing become good friends with a human, and Hide really doubted there was someone else as persistent as he was in Kaneki’s life. On top of that, Hide already knew that Kaneki worked with a group of ghouls. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that this Touka person was a ghoul.

Hide wondered that if Touka was a ghoul, did Yoriko know? Hide couldn’t ask her, that was for sure. He made a mental note to stay away from the local tavern and stay away from Touka.

“You could meet her. Stay for dinner?”

Hide was jolted out of his thoughts. “No, it’s alright. I probably should be getting back anyway.”

“I insist.”

“Um – I really –“

The sliding door opened behind him and Hide turned to see a young woman standing there. Her expression was flat and relaxed when she first walked in, but darkened when she saw Hide. Which probably meant that she recognized him too. She was one of the ghouls that attacked the caravan.

Hide turned back to Yoriko and tried to offer her an easy smile. “Like I said, I should probably get going. Kaneki’s expecting me back.”

“Kaneki?” Touka muttered. “I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. Stay.”

Hide was about to argue again, but Touka’s expression promised murder. “Right,” he said. “I guess I could stay for a bit.”

Yoriko clapped her hands together. “Great! I’ll get the food.”

Touka sat beside where Yoriko was sitting at the table, holding Hide’s gaze. He resisted the urge to take an interest in the patterns on the wood table and held her gaze as steadily as he could. That only made her glare harder. She leaned forward and opened her mouth to say something, but just then Yoriko came in with some food. She put a bowl in front of each of them.

It was some type of vegetable soup, a it smelled great. Hide thanked Yoriko for the meal, then tried some of the broth. It was delicious, but he was obviously distracted as he watched Touka also try it. He was expecting her expression to twist up, maybe for her to gag. But, she didn’t do any of those things. Her expression was smooth.

“You’ve outdone yourself,” she told Yoriko. “It has even more flavour than before.”

Yoriko’s eyes brightened as she smiled. Then, she turned to Hide. “This is one of Touka’s favourites. I like it too when it starts getting colder out. Do you like it, Hide?”

“Like Touka said, it’s really flavourful. It’s good.”

They continued to eat. Occasionally, Hide would glance up at Touka, almost in awe. He didn’t know how she was keeping the food down. He knew it disgusted ghouls and tasted absolutely terrible to them, so it blew his mind to see one of them sit down and willing eat a whole entire bowl of it. Touka glared at him every time he looked up, and he swore at one moment she even barred her teeth at him.

“So, Hide. What are you doing here in town?” Touka asked.

Yoriko rushed to answer for him. “He’s working for Kaneki.”

“Oh, is that so…” Touka ate a little more angrily after that.

Yoriko seemed to notice the tension and thankfully didn’t try to initiate any conversations between them. Hide felt bad, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault. He was extra sure to thank her before he left and headed back to Kaneki’s. However, he was almost jittering with nervousness since Touka was standing right beside him, having decided to leave at the same time.

Touka said goodbye and Hide gave a small wave as they set out down the road. Touka was keeping pace with him and Hide was almost sure she wasn’t going to pull anything. Until they were out of eyesight of Yoriko’s house. That was when Touka grabbed Hide by his collar and started dragging him along at a faster speed. Hide almost started to panic. He didn’t even have a knife on him… but to his surprise, Touka kept going in the direction to Kaneki’s. She was even more pissed than she was over dinner, and Hide was aching to ask her that if she’s going to puke, to not do it on him. However, he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He valued his life more than that.

She dragged Hide all the way to Kaneki’s doorstep and then pounded on the door, the entire wall shaking from the force. There was some shuffling inside, then Kaneki came out, looking confused. His gaze travelled from Touka to Hide, then he just looked exhausted.

“Help?” Hide asked him, smiling sheepishly.

Kaneki sighed and grabbed Hide by the collar instead of Touka and dragged him inside. “Go,” was all he said to him.

Hide happily escaped into the safety of Kaneki’s home. He wanted to go all the way to the library and get as far away as he could, but his curiosity won him over and he sat only a room over, listening to Touka and Kaneki’s conversation.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Kaneki?” Hide could hear Touka’s footsteps as she paced. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Touka –“ Kaneki started.

“No. It’s your stupid altruistic ways that got us here in first place. He knows. He knows. We can’t just let him live. He’s a danger to all of us. If you can’t bear to do it, then let me.”

“Absolutely not.” Kaneki snapped. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“That isn’t relevant. He’s human, so eventually he’ll –“

“Humans aren’t our enemies.”

“Yes, they are. One of the many.” Touka sounded resigned. “And you can’t trust them. They’ll just end up screwing you over.”

“And what about Yoriko?” Kaneki asked quietly. “Do you believe that about her too?”

“That’s different,” Touka said. “We need to keep up appearances. Me going over there for dinner is a lot different than you letting a human into your home. On top of that, one that already knows you’re a ghoul.”

“Really? That’s all your relationship with Yoriko is? If she found out you were a ghoul one day, would you be able to kill her?”

“Yes,” Touka said.

“I don’t believe that,” Kaneki said quietly.

“Fine.” Touka hissed. “Believe what you want. But don’t come crying to me when he hires an assassin to kill you with the money you’ve paid him.”

Touka slammed the sliding door shut as she left. Hide swore he heard the word crack. There was a soft sigh from Kaneki. Then, he opened the door to the room Hide was hiding in. Hide wondered if Kaneki knew he was sitting there the whole time.

“She’s gone now, you can stop hiding.” He tried to say it with a smile, but it faltered. “I’m really sorry for that.”

“It’s okay,” Hide rushed to reassure him. “Yoriko told me she really cares deeply about her friends, so I’m sure she’s just worried for you.”

“Right…” Kaneki ran a nervous hand through his hair. “You’re safe,” Kaneki said, almost like he was trying to convince himself. “She won’t do anything to you.”

Hide wanted to believe him, but how could he when Kaneki didn’t even seem to believe himself?

~<3<3<3~

When Hide woke up the next morning, he was all alone. He was surprised Kaneki didn’t wake him up when he got up for the day. He usually did, intentionally or unintentionally. Hide curled up a little more, still feeling sleepy, even though he already knew he slept in. He wanted to go back to bed, but he knew the moment he started convincing himself that Kaneki would wake him up if he needed him was the moment he needed to finally get up.

He was surprised by how quiet the house was. It was eerie. When he found Kaneki, he was sitting by the irori, nursing his morning cup of coffee and staring into its depth. He was quiet, hardly even glancing up when Hide entered the room and sat down next to him. Hide noticed the dark circles under his eyes were worse than usual.

“You doing okay?” Hide asked softly.

Kaneki twitched, almost like the question surprised him. Then he answered almost timidly. “I’m… sorry for what happened yesterday. I know Touka wouldn’t hurt you.” The way he said it sounded much more confident than yesterday. “But you don’t know her, so that probably doesn’t comfort you at all…” Kaneki shook his head sharply. “I wanted to give you today off. I also understand if you only want to do deliveries while I’m sure Touka is at Anteiku. And also, if you don’t want to make deliveries to the Kosakas at all –“

“Kaneki.” Hide said. “It’s fine, really. I’m fine. I have no issues with making deliveries and I like Yoriko’s company, so I hope I can keep going there. If you say Touka won’t attack me, then I’ll believe you.” Which was a lie. Hide would be making sure to at least carry a weapon of some type everywhere he went. “But if it’s alright, then I would like to ask you some questions that have been troubling me for a while?”

While asking people’s opinions of Kaneki was important, Kaneki’s opinion of himself was even more important in determining the type of person he was, though Hide thought he already knew what type of person Kaneki was.

“That’s okay, I suppose,” Kaneki said tentatively.

Hide took a deep breath, then looked right at Kaneki. “Do you kill people?”

Kaneki froze, then looked down at his coffee again, his expression twisted with guilt and sadness. “Of course I do. You saw that I do. I’m a ghoul. To survive, I have to eat. And to eat, I have to kill. That’s what every ghoul has to do if they want to live.”

“Then I want to clarify,” Hide continued. “What type of people do you kill? Do you kill innocent people, or only those who deserve it?”

Kaneki made a strange face. He mouthed Hide’s words ‘those who deserve it’ and made a face like they were something that tasted rotten. “I would prefer to not kill anyone at all. Innocent or not. And I don’t think you could say that many of the people I’ve killed have deserved to die. I think very, very few people in the world deserve to die, and even then, I don’t think I should be the one making that choice. I don’t want to make the choice. But I have to choose, we all have to. So, I choose the path that I think would save the most lives.”

Personally, Hide didn’t understand. He killed many people that deserve to die. Serial murders, people that have done many, many terrible things that are debatably worse than murder too. He didn’t see a way in which these people should have lived. The world was better off without them…

Kaneki didn’t believe he had the right to make the choice, yet he had to anyway. Hide on the other hand, didn’t mind the choice when it was presented to him, but usually didn’t make it, since he couldn’t usually get all the information. Hide only stopped killing because he was so afraid that he would kill an innocent by accident. He may have already. There was no way of knowing after they were dead, unless they were caught in the act. And if they were, Hide had no remorse. After all, it was for the greater good, wasn’t it? That was what Hide was raised to believe.

Then again, he was also raised to believe that of all the people he killed, there would be a lot more guilty than those innocent, so didn’t matter if some innocents ended up dead. When it all came down to it, they were saving lives. But Hide couldn’t and wouldn’t accept that. So why was he so willing to relieve himself of the guilt of killing a person, even if they were guilty? Kaneki certainly didn’t.

“Regardless of who I kill,” Kaneki continued. “I’m still a murder.”

Well, that made two of them, then.

“Did that answer all your questions?” Kaneki asked, sounding so pained it made Hide’s heart ache.

“Almost,” he said. “I also wanted to ask if you could teach me how to make coffee?”

~<3<3<3~

Kaneki refused, but made coffee for the both of them. Hide watched with rapt attention anyway, smiling slightly as he watched Kaneki gradually relax and calm down after their conversation. Hide felt a little bad for jumping those questions on Kaneki, especially considering how he reacted to them. Hide should have known – considering how surprisingly gentle Kaneki was, but he was still surprised. Hide felt blinded by his own beliefs, thinking that Kaneki – someone who killed even more than Hide did – would have stronger morals than he did. Stronger – Hide thought. Not necessarily more pure or better – Hide tried to assure himself – simply more idealist. Hide liked to think he preferred realism and that the ‘goodness’ of something was subjective. But how much of that belief was simply formed to excuse his actions? Hide didn’t really want to think about it. It hurt too much.

He couldn’t help but wonder – what would it be like if he was in Kaneki’s situation, and Kaneki was in his? How would they have differed? Would Hide have followed the same path that Kaneki did? Would Kaneki have developed the same morals that Hide did?

Orphaned at a young age, Hide practically worshipped the Washuus when they took him in from off the streets – just some scrawny six-year-old kid that had a skill for pickpocketing and escaping angry merchants when he was caught. He was took in – he was fed and would never be hungry or alone again if he kept going to his practices and lessons. His tutors were alright, but the lessons with Arima were brutal – increasingly so as Hide got older and stronger.

Yet, for the first time Hide felt loved since he lost his parents – they were nameless and faceless figures to him, but Hide liked to think he was loved, even if he couldn’t remember them anymore. He felt valued and important. Back then, Hide took the Washuu’s word as law.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how disappointed they would be with him – probably even more so than they were when Hide decided to leave the family business. After all, Hide was brought up in it.

Still, that couldn’t excuse the lives Hide had taken.

Hide wondered what Kaneki would think of him, if he knew. If he knew about Hide’s past, if he knew of the type of things Hide had done… would he be horrified? Would he hate him? Hide asked Kaneki about himself, delving into things Kaneki probably didn’t want to talk about. Kaneki was afraid of rejection, just like Hide was. Yet, Hide couldn’t bring himself to confide in Kaneki. Not yet. Hide felt pathetic.

Hide took the coffee Kaneki made for him, though by that time, he could hardly stomach it. They went to the library, where they lounged on some cushions. Kaneki was reading, but Hide stared at the ceiling, deep in his thoughts. Thoughts of his childhood. Thoughts of the small, bare room he stayed in as a child. How Arima would sometimes come to read him stories at night, though they were far too advanced for a child Hide’s age. Nevertheless, Hide enjoyed his company.

“Would you mind – could you read aloud?” Hide asked, startling Kaneki.

Kaneki froze, but then relaxed, his smile soft. “Do you want me to start at the beginning for you?”

“No, it’s okay. I just like to listen.”

Kaneki tilted his head in question. But when Hide didn’t answer, Kaneki shifted a little and got comfortable. Then, he picked up reading where he left off. His voice was soft, and he gradually became more animated the more absorbed into the story he became. He was the most animated Hide ever saw Kaneki. His voice – even his expressions – reflected what was going on in the story. Fascinated, Hide watched him, seeing the faint blush that spread across Kaneki cheeks when he noticed Hide’s attention.

Not wanting to make Kaneki too uncomfortable, Hide closed his eyes. He breathed deeply, trying to focus solely on the sound of Kaneki’s voice, and not his own thoughts that were running rampant. So, Hide noticed immediately when Kaneki stopped reading. However, he only opened his eyes when he felt a hand placed tentatively against his forehead.

Kaneki was kneeling over him, and recoiled a little when Hide opened his eyes. A nervous smile flitted across his face. “You’ve been pale all day. I’ve been a little worried. I’ve heard humans get ill easily and far too often.”

Did Hide really look that bad? “No, I’m fine… it’s just…” Hide wished the earth would swallow him up so that he wouldn’t have to answer Kaneki’s questions.

Surprisingly, Kaneki didn’t ask. He just sat back a little, giving back Hide the personal space he didn’t realized he had lost. “There’s something I would like to show you.” Kaneki stood, placing his book to the side. “You should dress warm. It’ll be cold.”

Hide blinked in surprise, but went and got ready, taking Kaneki’s advice. Kaneki was waiting by the front door. When he left, Hide followed him out without a word. Hide was expecting Kaneki to take the road, but instead Kaneki went the other direction and stepped into the forest behind his house. Hide trudged after him, moving a lot less elegantly through the foliage than Kaneki.

The sun was setting, but Kaneki didn’t seem to be close to stopping. He moved through the trees with quiet ease, like he was following a path that only he could see. Hide stayed close behind. If he reached out, he could touch Kaneki’s back, where the centre of his shirt was damp with sweat from working over the heat of the forge all day.

“Watch your step.” The ground was thick with roots and vines, the forest thicker than ever. When Hide found he could no longer see Kaneki and could only tell where he was from the faint sound of his footsteps, Hide gave into his early urge and reached forward to find Kaneki’s back with his fingertips. “We’re almost there,” Kaneki murmured.

Within a couple minutes the forest thinned and Hide could see again. In front of them was a clearing bathed in light from the full moon. There was the sound of running water. Hide stepped into the clearing, delighted to see a small waterfall flowing gently over a small, bumpy, awkward looking ridge. It pooled into a pond at the base and then tapered off into a thin river that ran back into the forest. The water was mostly calm, save for at the base of the waterfall and near the opening of the river. There were large rocks on one side, most of them smooth, creeping towards the centre of the pond like stepping stones. The path looked too deliberate and Hide came to the conclusion that Kaneki must have placed them there.

Kaneki took his shoes off and rolled up his pants. He stepped across the stone and beckoned for Hide to follow. “Don’t fall.”

“You know, you could offer me a hand or something. So that I don’t crack my head open?” Hide took his shoes off and took careful steps across the rocks.

“I think you can manage,” Kaneki said. However, he hung back a little and Hide knew Kaneki could catch him if he slipped. Sure enough, when Hide teetered precariously after his foot slid on some moss, Kaneki caught his hand to steady him.

“Oh, man,” Hide laughed. “What would I do without you?”

“Die, probably,” Kaneki deadpanned.

Miraculously, they made it to the end of the rocks without Hide falling again. Kaneki sat on the edge of the rock, letting his feet dangle in the water. It went halfway up his shin. Hide honestly didn’t know how he could do it with a straight face. The water was freezing. It was almost winter.

Hide sat as well, the rock just large enough to fit the both of them. However, unlike Kaneki – the weirdo – Hide didn’t put his feet in the ice cold water. Aside from the chill in the air, the place was actually quite nice.

“This is a pretty nice place. How’d you find it?” Hide spoke lowly.

“By chance. It’s convenient. It’s a good place to clean up after… well.” Kaneki almost looked sheepish. “It’s also really soothing here. It’s a nice place to clear my head.”

Hide nodded to himself. The sound of the waterfall was calming. “You’re right. It’s peaceful.”

Kaneki hummed, leaning back on his hands. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and when he exhaled, Hide could see the tension drain from his shoulders. Hide noticed Kaneki was stressed, but he didn’t notice how stressed Kaneki was until he fully relaxed. Hide wondered if there was something bothering him, though he knew asking was pointless. Kaneki wouldn’t give him an answer. So instead of asking, Hide just let himself feel relieved that Kaneki could wind down and relax a little. Watching him, Hide found it a little difficult to tear his gaze away.

The way the moonlight hit Kaneki’s face highlighted the curve of his throat and jawline. Hide found himself admiring the features of Kaneki’s face, his lips, his nose, his eyes… it was the first time Hide ever stopped and thought about how beautiful Kaneki was. Sitting in the moonlight, he was ethereal, like nothing could touch him. Yet, that was exactly what Hide wanted to do.

Hide found his cheeks burning and quickly looked away, worried Kaneki would open his eyes and catch Hide gawking at him. But even after a few minutes Kaneki didn’t open his eyes – he didn’t even so much as twitch – so Hide couldn’t help but going back to staring.

After a little, Hide switched his gaze to the full moon, smiling softly. He felt special, being allowed to sit there with Kaneki. Kaneki obviously loved the place, and felt safe in it too. Kaneki trusted Hide enough to share this with him and that made Hide feel surprisingly good.

Hide shifted closer to Kaneki, their elbows brushing as he moved. “You haven’t fallen asleep on me, have you?”

“No,” Kaneki murmured. His eyes fluttered open and turned his head towards Hide. “But we should be getting home soon. I need to get up early tomorrow.”

Hide tilted his head in question, but didn’t ask. If Kaneki wanted him to know, he would tell him. Hide let Kaneki guide him off the rocks. After they put their shoes back on, Kaneki took Hide’s hand again to lead him back through the forest, back to Kaneki’s house. Oddly, Hide never felt so safe traveling at night, even though it was pitch black and Hide had no clue where they were.

Hide decided to trust Kaneki too.

~<3<3<3~

When Hide awoke it was still dark out. He groaned quietly as he opened his eyes, seeing Kaneki getting up in the dark. It seemed ghouls may have had better night-vision than humans, since he noticed Hide had his eyes open.

“You should go back to bed,” Kaneki murmured. “I have a few things to do, so you have the day off.” Kaneki hovered over Hide as he grumbled sleepily. Then, with a quiet laugh, he tentatively ran his fingers through Hide’s hair.

Hide hummed. “Where you going?”

Kaneki went ridged, but answered honestly. “Food.” He was silent for a few moment, but when Hide nudged his hand with his head, Kaneki started playing with his hair again. “If I’m gone for a couple days, tell people I’m sick, okay? Things can sometimes get complicated.”

Hide hummed again, his voice slurred. “You’ll be safe, right?”

“Yeah.” Kaneki’s nails gently ran over Hide’s scalp, making him sigh. “I should be back later tonight. Don’t stay up waiting, okay?”

That was the last thing Hide remembered before he was waking up around noon in an empty house. He laid still for a while, thinking of how nice it felt when Kaneki played with his hair. He flushed at the memory, touching his head where Kaneki did.

“Fuck.” He covered his eyes with his palm. He was resolved to trust Kaneki. Not only with his life, but with his past as well, however… Hide’s lips trembled. “I’m so scared.” As if saying the words out loud would make him feel any different.

When Hide finally got up, he spent a couple hours meticulously cleaning. Most of the work was already done, but Hide did it again anyway, relieved to simply have something to do. Yet when that work ran out…

Hide sighed as he got dressed. He couldn’t just sit around. It was unbearable. At the very least the markets would distract him, even if he wasn’t planning to spend any money. After all, he needed every bit of it to get back home. Although, Hide was wondering if he even wanted to go home. He was beginning to feel like Kaneki’s home was his too. And… he really didn’t want to leave. He knew that if Kaneki asked him to stay, there was no way Hide could refuse him. And Hide yearned for Kaneki to ask him to. But Hide wasn’t sure if he could ask Kaneki himself.

Hide shook his head sharply as he walked down the road towards town. It wasn’t a long walk and it wasn’t long before he heard the hustle and bustle that came with lunchtime. It was energetic, loud, and familiar. It was just what Hide needed. This was the type of environment Hide thrived in. He had ever since he was young.

Hide aimlessly walked around, not having a particular destination in mind. He would stop a few stalls, taking a look at a few items, but always putting them back. The people were pleasant. The town was pleasant. He could see why Kaneki liked it so much. It was peaceful.

“Hide!”

He spun to see Yoriko hurrying towards him, a smile on her face.

“What are you doing in town?” She fell in step next to Hide, pausing with him as he looked at a necklace a merchant was selling. It was a long, slender, dark stone. It was dark enough to look black, but under the sunlight Hide could see the blue undertones. It was on a long cord which must have been coloured with indigo dye to achieve the dark blue colour. It was beautiful, and Hide couldn’t help but think that it would suit Kaneki perfectly.

He shook his head. “Kaneki isn’t feeling too well.” It was best to stick with the story he was given. “He gave me the day off.”

“Oh no,” Yoriko murmured. “Is he sick?”

“I hope not. Maybe just a little overworked.” Hide shrugged. “I’m hoping that he’ll be fine if he gets some rest.”

Yoriko nodded. “He really does spend too much time working. That’s why I was glad when he hired you, but I guess he hasn’t slowed down at all, has he?” Yoriko was frowning, her eyebrows pinched. “Touka was worried about him too…”

“Was she?”

Yoriko nodded. “She always does. She kind of treats him like a younger brother, even though he’s the older one… maybe it’s because…” Yoriko sighed softly.

Hide raised an eyebrow, but Yoriko shook her head.

“It’s not important.” Yoriko’s frowned. “Though, speaking of Touka, I was planning on going to Anteiku. You should come with me!” Her exuberance was a little forced.

Hide gave a small argument, but allowed himself to be dragged along. Yorkio seemed upset about something, so he really didn’t want to push it. Besides, if Hide was right, Kaneki being gone meant that Touka would most likely be as well. After all, she needed food as much as he did.

Anteiku was quiet, though Hide supposed it was the time of day. Places like this came alive at night. It was dim, but he could still see well enough. There were many tables, most of which were empty, but a few had a person or two sitting at them silently. Yoriko chose a table at the door and Hide sat across from her.

A man came out and greeted them, frowning. “Yoriko, you here to see Touka? Sorry, but she isn’t in today.”

“Ah Nishio, is that so…” Yoriko smiled. “Could I still get some tea?”

“I’ll have some as well,” Hide said.

The man smiled at Hide as well, so honest and real looking. Yet Hide knew it was fake. “Kaneki’s apprentice, right?”

“Assistant.” Hide muttered as the man walked off to get their order. He hoped his tea wouldn’t come back poisoned.

Yoriko asked Hide about his work, but her heart didn’t seem in it. Her gaze was distant and she didn’t seem to be listening either. Yet, the moments when he turned away or stopped talking to drink his tea, her gaze focused on him.

Hide was unnerved enough that he was glad when they finished their tea. He was glad to be leaving until apparently, he wasn’t. A hand clasped his elbow, stopping him in his tracks. Nishio stood there, glaring at Hide. “You wouldn’t mind staying behind for a moment would you?”

Yoriko was frozen at the door as well, her eyes darting between Hide and Nishio.

“No, it’s alright.” Hide gave Yoriko an easy smile. “You go on. I’ll catch up.”

She reluctantly left. Nishio turned his back to Hide and walked towards the bar. Hide followed. They went through the door to the storage room. As soon as the door shut, Hide was shoved into the wall. He winced when his shoulder collided with it first.

Hide held out his hands in surrender when Nishio’s kakugan flared. “Seriously, Touka’s already threatened me. You don’t have to as well.”

“Apparently I do, since you’re still here.”

“And I intend to leave when I get enough money to get home.” Since when did that start sounding like a lie? “Look, Kaneki’s treated me well. I’m not going to do anything to hurt him.”

“You better not.” Nishio snapped. “If you do –“

“I’ll be dead. I know, I know. I won’t say anything.”

Nishio grabbed the front of Hide’s shirt and Hide tensed, waiting for Nishio’s next words. He was expecting anger, some shouting maybe. Instead, all he got is a huff.

“Kaneki’s too kind,” Nishio muttered.

“Yeah, he is,” Hide agreed.

Nishio stared at him, contemplative. Then his expression smoothed from the scowl it was set in. “You should watch your back. Take care. Kaneki would be upset if you did something stupid and got yourself hurt. Idiot.” Hide didn’t know who the last jab was for, him or Kaneki.

To Hide’s surprise, Yoriko was waiting outside Anteiku when he exited, her face down as she scuffed at the ground with her boot. She glanced up when he walked out, obvious relief on her face.

“Would you walk me home?” She asked quietly, chewing her lip.

Hide nodded. “Sure.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as they started walking.

They headed towards her house, but it wasn’t until they were almost there and out of the crowd that she spoke. “You know, don’t you?” When she said it so serious, her expression pinched, her voice low and her eyes filled with worry, Hide could only think she meant one thing.

Hide froze, his steps faltering. “You know?”

“Of course I know.” Yoriko said quietly. “Touka and I… we…” She shook her head. “She doesn’t know that I know. But after so long, I was impossible to not notice. Especially being as close as we are. One time, she was helping me with some work on the farm. I injured myself and started to bleed. I saw her eyes before she could hide them. That was already some years ago.”

“That’s…” Hide’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why did you never tell her that you knew? Why do you continue to make food for her and watch her eat it?”

Yoriko’s face twisted like she was in pain. “Because she would run. More than anything, she’s scared. She’s made a place here, she’s made and friends, and anything that threatens those connections terrifies her. She’s lost enough already. Her parents. Her brother. And… I would really rather for her to tell me. And for her to know that I know when she is ready. And I just… I hate seeing her in pain, but I don’t know which is worse… her knowing that I know and being scared of what I think of her, or her being afraid of me finding out.”

Hide frowned. “Don’t you think, that if you got a chance to talk to her about it, that you could convince her that you still care for her? That you wouldn’t abandon her?”

“I don’t know.” Yoriko smiled wryly. “But… maybe I should try.” She looked down, not speaking another word. Hide let her be with her thoughts.

Hide said goodbye to Yoriko on her doorstep, giving her a small wave. He was so incredibly happy to head home and eat something and lay down. Which was exactly what he did. He wasn’t able to fall asleep, since he woke up so late. But at least he was able to get his mind of his own problems and think about Yoriko’s instead.

He really hoped that everything would turn out okay for her and Touka.

Hide’s eyes were just closing when the sound of the front door sliding open made then snap open again. Hide froze, listening to the sound of staggering footsteps against the floor. There was a crash and a harsh curse that Hide recognized as Kaneki’s voice.

Relieved, Hide hurried to get up, almost falling with his legs still tangled in the blankets. When he freed himself, he rushed to the front room, finding Kaneki leaning against the wooden counter with an expression so furious that Hide had to pull up short. However, the next thing Hide saw had him rushing forward with worry.

Kaneki was covered in blood, a large hole through the centre of his shirt. Kaneki jumped a little when Hide put a hand on his shoulder, his eyes widening.

“Are you okay?” Hide leaned closer to get a look at Kaneki’s injury, but Kaneki gently put a hand out to stop him.

“It’s already healed.” Kaneki stepped away from the counter and showed Hide he could stand on his own two feet. “Really, I’m okay. Just tired”

Hide didn’t quite believe him, so he stayed close. “What happened?”

Kaneki shook his head slightly. “I… we were attacked by another group of ghouls. We’ve been fighting with them for months. They’ve already killed some of ours. We probably should have retreated, but I…” Kaneki swallowed thickly and Hide saw his jaw tighten. “I couldn’t let them get away with it all.” His shoulder trembled slightly.

“Are you okay?” Hide interjected and put his hand on Kaneki’s shoulder again. “Is everyone okay?”

Kaneki nodded. “Yes – they’re injured – but alive.” Kaneki leaned a little against Hide. “They’re alive.”

Hide shared Kaneki’s relief. He hated to think of Kaneki losing anyone else. Hesitantly, Hide let his hand slide from Kaneki’s shoulder to his back, pulling him close. Kaneki practically sagged against him, wrapping an arm around Hide, fisting it in the fabric of his shirt. Hide wrapped his other arm around Kaneki as well, holding the back of his head. Kaneki pressed his face against Hide’s shoulder and Hide could tell Kaneki was struggling not to cry, his chest heaving with stuttering breaths. Hide rubbed comforting circles against Kaneki’s back, feeling his tears wet his neck.

Hide waited for Kaneki to speak again, his voice more ragged than it was before. “Even if I still save everyone now… those ghouls – with how much they kill – they’ll draw assassins here, and then we’ll have to deal with those too. Only more of us will die… I can’t –“ Kaneki shook his head.

Hide didn’t know how to tell him that the ghouls – or at least Rize – had already drawn the attention of the assassins. Hide didn’t know how to comfort him. He wanted to tell Kaneki that everything would be alright, that all he could do was his best, but even doing his best might not save his friends’ lives.

Kaneki pulled back, rubbing his hands against his face roughly, scrubbing away the tears as he fought to keep his voice even. “I need to go get cleaned up before morning. Nobody can see me like this.”

Hide froze. “And nobody saw you coming back?” Rumours could spread if anyone from town saw him and Kaneki would be attacked specifically if anyone found out.

Kaneki shook his head. “There’s a reason I live on the edge of town. And it’s too dark to see all the blood from so far away.” Kaneki kept shaking his head. “I need… I need clean clothes.”

“I’ll get them. You stay here, okay?” Hide reached forward and gave Kaneki’s hand a squeeze. When Kaneki nodded, Hide went to retrieve some clothes and a dark piece of cloth. He wiped the blood off his hands before he grabbed them. He also took a minute or so to hunt down a bit of soap, knowing how hard the blood would be to get off. Juggling those in one hand, Hide went back to Kaneki and took Kaneki’s hand with his spare one. “Lead the way.”

Kaneki held his hand tight the whole way, tight enough that Hide felt his fingers going numb. When they finally got to the pond, Kaneki let Hide’s hand go reluctantly. Kaneki’s eyes swept around the clearing, looking for any threats. But even when he didn’t see any, he couldn’t seem to relax.

“This will probably seem like a weird request…” His voice was so uncertain that Hide rushed to assure him.

“It’s okay. Just tell me what it is.”

“Could you stay close to me?” The words came out in a rush. “You don’t have to get in the water – I know it’s cold, but I can’t help but think – if something happens – if someone attacks – if you’re not close enough and I –“

“I could sit on the rock?” Hide offered.

Kaneki lets out a sigh of relief. “Yes – that would be good.”

Hide nodded and gave Kaneki a reassuring smile, putting the clothes down on a patch of grass that seemed clean enough. When he handed Kaneki the dark cloth and soap, Kaneki smiled.

“Thank you, Hide.”

Hide walked to the end of the rock path, taking a seat with his legs crossed and facing away from the centre of the lake to give Kaneki some privacy. As he heard the sound of Kaneki’s clothes dropping to the ground, Hide picked at his own, seeing the blood on them from when he hugged Kaneki. Hide frowned. He probably wouldn’t be able to get the stains out. It looked like he needed some new clothes as well. But for then, he opted to dip his hands into the freezing water of the lake and make sure any remaining blood was scrubbed entirely off them.

He heard Kaneki move through the water towards him and Hide chose to stare at the moon. He heard water splashing close behind him as Kaneki scrubbed at his skin. Kaneki cleaned wordlessly for a few minutes, but Hide found that staying silent only gave him more time to think about things that bothered him.

“Did it hurt?” Hide asked. “Your injury, I mean.”

“I guess,” Kaneki said. Hide could tell by his voice that he had moved closer. “But getting hurt doesn’t seem as bad as it used to. I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

Hide couldn’t help the way he stiffened at that statement and the way Kaneki said it. There was bitterness and resignation, like it was an inevitable part of Kaneki’s life that he would regularly sustain injuries that would be life-threatening to anyone but a ghoul.

A cold hand gently touched one of Hide’s. “You can turn around, you know.”

Hide turned just enough to peek over his shoulder. The water was shallow enough that Kaneki could stand and the water only reached his navel. He was leaning against the rock with a worried expression as he twined his fingers together with Hide’s. His hair and torso was cleaned of blood, and Hide was glad to see there were no traces of the injuries Kaneki had sustained. However…

“What’s wrong?” Kaneki asked.

“I wish you never had to get used to pain like that,” Hide admitted quietly.

Kaneki blinked, then smiled sadly. “Yeah… me too.”

~<3<3<3~

“I guess it’s almost time for you to be heading home, isn’t it?” Kaneki’s soft voice interrupted Hide mid-bite as he ate the omelet Kaneki made him for breakfast.

Hide swallowed the food in his mouth and cleared his throat awkwardly. “I suppose so, yeah. A couple more days should do it.”

“Then I should thank you, for the work you put in. It’s been a lot easier with you here. And I…” Kaneki flushed a little. “I wanted to thank you for last night as well.”

Hide smiled. “Really, I should be the one thanking you.”

Kaneki laughed lightly and shook his head. “The weather looks like it’ll be nice for the next couple days, so there’ll probably be a lot of merchants traveling back and forth. You should start searching for one now that will take you with them.” Kaneki looked sad as he said this, but he gave no time for Hide to ask all the questions he wanted to. Can I stay here? Do you want me to stay? If I leave, can I come back? And lastly: Will you hate me, if I tell you who I once was?

“I have a few deliveries for you today. Nothing much, since I was gone. Could you do those right away?” Kaneki asked. He stood abruptly and left the room, presumably to catch up on some of the work he left when he went out for food.

Hide sighed and finished his omelet. He could talk to Kaneki when he got back. He could ask all his questions and finally get answers. But until then… Hide shook his head and started cleaning up. He would worry about all of it when he got back. No matter how much he tried to choose better words or restructure his sentences, they would all still mean the same thing. I used to be an assassin. The type that hunts ghouls. The whole time we’ve lived together, the whole time you’ve trusted me, I’ve kept this a secret from you.

Hide finished the deliveries as quickly as possible. His stomach turned at the thought of facing Kaneki, but he couldn’t let himself stew over it anymore. He needed to tell him. He couldn’t keep it to himself anymore.

Hide headed back to Kaneki’s, but the instant he got there he knew something was wrong. The door was ajar and everything was silent. Cautiously, Hide pulled out his knife, and opened the door the rest of the way, stepping inside.

He almost stepped right in the blood. There was a pool of it by the door. But the room was smeared with it. The place was a wreck. The floor and the counter were cracked in a couple places, and one of the interior walls had a massive hole that told Hide that someone must have been thrown through it.

“Kaneki?” Hide called.

No answer.

Heart in his throat, Hide searched the rest of the house. There was no one there. Nor was there a sign of where Kaneki had gone or why there was a fight. Hide had no clue what was going on, and he could only think of one place to go to find out.

When Hide reached Anteiku, it was closed. But Hide couldn’t care less. He stormed inside, only to find a group of people gathered around a table, serious expressions on their faces. Touka glanced up when he walked in, then her expression hardened.

“I’ll be right back,” she said and unceremoniously dragged Hide outside.

Hide didn’t have time for this. “Kaneki – he’s”

“I know. And there’s nothing you can do. Leave this to us.”

“But –“

“There are no ‘buts’. We’re better equipped to deal with this than a human. You can’t handle Aogiri. The best thing you can do is head back to Kaneki’s and clean up. He can’t have rumors floating around when he gets back.” Touka scowled. “And we will get him back.”

“I can’t just sit around and do nothing. I have to do something.”

For the first time, Touka didn’t look angry with him. All he saw in her gaze was sadness and pity. “Look, I’m sorry. But there’s really nothing else you can do. Please just go clean up. We’re going to be busy enough tracking Kaneki down. Things will probably get ugly. It’s best you get out of the way.”

With that, Touka stepped back inside, closing the door in Hide’s face. All he could do was head back to Kaneki’s and do just as she said. But when he was finished…

There was no way in hell he was doing nothing.

~<3<3<3~

Hide used his money to get home. However, it wasn’t the home he was thinking of.

The Washuu estate was large, though it seemed a lot larger when Hide was growing up. Back then, it was almost like a castle, and he couldn’t imagine a place that was any more grand and beautiful. It still was, but the sight of the place absolutely nauseated Hide.

So did the sight of Arima. His once beloved adoptive brother was sitting across the table from him, nursing a cup of tea. Hide’s was left untouched.

“I’ve decided to take Kamishiro Rize’s hit,” Hide said.

Arima didn’t so much as pause. He simply waited for Hide to continue.

“I was looking for more information on the twentieth sector, and in the surrounding sectors in the northeast part of the country. I’ve been investigating, but there appears to be too much activity for simply one ghoul, even if she is a binge eater. I want to know if you have any additional information on the ghouls in the area. Specifically, Aogiri.”

It was a week since Hide last saw Kaneki. Since Aogiri took him. He had no idea whether or he was okay or not. Hide had no idea if he was even alive. It felt like he had a hole in his chest and he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t. He would cry later, when he knew Kaneki was safe.

Arima’s eyebrows rose minutely when Hide mentioned Aogiri. “I’m pleased you decided to accept my request.” Arima set down his tea and folded his hands together on the table. “As for ghoul activity in the twentieth sector and the group who are known as Aogiri, there are a number of members that are not known to us, but those who are known are powerful. I would not advise stepping outside the bounds of the request. Kamishiro Rize’s assassination is sufficient.” Arima said it like it was an order.

“Should I not be concerned about Rize’s allies planning to take revenge?” Hide asked instead of arguing.

“That is unlikely. Ghouls like Kamishiro are threats to even the organizations they are part of. They draw too much attention. If you are concerned, conceal your identity and cover your scent. As for weapons… it is my understanding that you have none?”

That meant that Rize was a part of Aogiri, and if he found her – then he would find Aogiri.

“None.” Hide grinned cheekily. “Sold them.”

Hide could practically feel the disappointment radiating from Arima. “Then I will supply you with new ones. Try not to… sell these ones.”

“Of course. Thank you.” Hide stood. “Should I head straight to the armory?”

“Yes.” Arima said.

Hide nodded and turned, Arima speaking just was he stepped out of the room.

“Welcome back, Washuu Hideyoshi.”

The armory was relatively large, filled with every type of weapon that Hide could imagine, most of them which Hide was trained in. Although, he favoured short swords, specifically if they were narrow enough to fit in an eye socket – one of the weakest parts of a ghoul. It made for quick and efficient hits.

The armory was separate from the forge, where all the weapons were made by skilled blacksmiths and all their assistants. It took many to make quality swords and weapons. A single blacksmith – like Kaneki – would never be able to match their combined skill.

Hide swallowed thickly as he picked out a set of blades. Hide preferred to have two weapons over a shield. No shield could withstand the force of a kagune, no matter how well-made they were. Evasion was the way to go.

Hide walked up to the attendant at the armory, who frowned at him. Hide recognized him as someone he used to train with when he was younger – when Arima wasn’t around. He wasn’t a member of the main Washuu household, but one of the branches. Hide was often hated by members of the branch families when he was younger, since he wasn’t related to them, but still given the same privileges the main family was, since Arima adopted him as his brother.

Seidou was indifferent to Hide, maybe even a little friendly. It was a welcome difference for Hide when he was younger, not yet understanding why he was so hated. He preferred sparring with him. He was never unnecessarily cruel.

“What did you do to be stuck on armory duty?” Hide asked, picking up a corded holster that would sufficiently holster his swords. It would do.

“And here I thought you forgot me,” Seidou muttered. He rolled his eyes and tapped his forearm. “Injury. Got my sword yanked away in a fight. Fucked up my arm pretty good. I’m out for a few months.”

Hide winced. “Sorry to hear that.”

Seidou shrugged. “It’s better than dying.”

Hide sighed. “That’s true. Well, could you please prepare a horse for me? I will be leaving soon.”

“Don’t die out there.” Seidou shooed him away. “See you later?”

Hide waved in farewell. Seidou knew he wouldn’t be coming back. He already said goodbye long ago. He didn’t need to do it again.

He only had one more stop that he had to make. He stepped out of the armory and headed to another building – the main house’s living quarters. Hide stepped inside, going through the halls until he stopped in front of a familiar door. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Nothing had changed except for the collected dust. His bedroll was right where he left it, as were the rest of his belongings. There was a small blanket he had ever since he was a kid. There was a shogi board Arima had gotten him when he was fourteen. They would play sometimes, when Hide was particularly bored and didn’t have anyone to bother and was too exhausted to train.

Hide would have been lying if he said the time with the Washuus was all bad. There were times when he was happy. Like when he was young and Arima used to read for him until he fell asleep, or when he would sit and play shogi with Hide instead of training.

But then there was everything else. The relentless training that he was forced to do if he wanted a roof over his head, the ideals that were shoved down his throat and the blade the Washuus so eagerly placed in his hand before they told him to kill. They made him into the assassin they wanted and the kindness he was shown only made it harder for him to break free. He knew that, and it made him bitter.

But it only made things harder.

Hide sighed and tried his best to ignore all of it. He pulled out some of his old clothing, sighing heavily. Putting it back on felt like he was reverting, but it was his best option. It had all the hidden pockets that could allow him to carry concealed weapons.

He chose what used to be his favorite one – though it was only his favourite because he knew Arima hated it so much. It was a robe Hide sewed together himself, ugly and mismatched, made from different scraps of materials from clothing that got ruined on other missions. Hide wished his mismatched pants also survived, but they were also sadly destroyed on a mission, so Hide had to go around wearing regular hakama pants with his colourful robe.

Hide put his clothes on, smiling wryly. He wondered – out of all the things he hated about himself – how much of it was truly who he was and how much of it was the Washuu’s influence?

~<3<3<3~~

Hide spent a week tracking the disappearances across towns in the twentieth sector. Binge eaters left trails that were usually pretty easy to follow and Rize was no exception. Hide suspected there was a similar situation to what he himself experienced a couple of months earlier.

Sure enough, the next day he found the caravan. It was similar to the one Hide was kept in, leaving no way to see inside of it. The six men walking with it were armed, but none of them walked like they were trained to fight or kill. After all, they were dealing with humans, not ghouls.

“Here we go,” Hide murmured. He sped the horse into a gallop, racing ahead of the caravan to cut them off. “Hello, gentlemen,” Hide said as he brought his horse to a stop. “Care to tell me what you’re carrying for cargo?”

Hide hopped down from his horse and made way to the caravan, dodging a swipe one of the men took at his head. Hide didn’t even both unsheathing his sword, simply driving the hilt into the man’s gut and carrying on. The next one that attacked Hide got a kick to the groin. He went down, gasping.

That gave Hide enough leeway to be able to yank the door open, revealing the people who were tied up inside. There was the whistling of air behind Hide’s head and he ducked to the side just quick enough to avoid a chop to the head from an axe. It imbedded in the wall of the caravan over Hide’s shoulder. Hide spun and chopped him in the throat with his the edge of his hand. Which the man was gasping, Hide swung with his other arm, smashing the hilt into the side of his head and effectively knocking him out.

The two that Hide previously knocked down were getting back up, their faces twisted with anger. The other three were joining them, drawing their weapons and surrounding him. Hide sighed sharply, drawing his sword too.

The next moment they attacked. Hide focused on dodging the weapons that were swung at him. If he couldn’t dodge, he would parry. He got in strikes when he could, making sure they would be non-lethal hits – well, not immediately anyway. Hide kept moving until there was only one of his opponents standing. The others were on the ground in various positions, holding their respective wounds and groaning if they hadn’t been knocked out.

The man swung at him and Hide met his blow, locking the hilts of their swords together. Hide twisted his wrist, forcing the man to let go of his sword with a gasp as his wrist twisted. He growled under his breath, reaching for his sword again, but Hide raised his own and pointed it to his throat.

“I’m going to ask you some questions,” Hide said. “You’ll answer them.”

The man bared his teeth.

“Your employer. I want you to take me to her. Kamishiro Rize, correct? Take me there, and I’ll let you keep your life.”

The man growled something unintelligible, but Hide knew that he had him. The man unhooked one of the horses from the caravan and climbed on top of it, gesturing Hide to follow. Hide smiled and did, but not before freeing the people in the caravan. Hide climbed on top of his own horse, and spoke warningly.

“If you take me anywhere else other than to Rize, you’ll regret it.”

The man laughed. “You’ll be the one with regrets when you meet her.”

They rode for half a day before the man spoke again. “It’s here. I won’t go any closer. Not without her goods. She’ll kill me. If the others don’t.”

Hide stared into the forest ahead of him, the grand trees hanging over the road and shading it. He looked at the man, and the obvious fear in his expression. He didn’t seem to be lying. “Fine, you may go.”

But Hide had to get a closer look. He followed the path as it became more overgrown. Then the trees started to thin until they finally parted and Hide was looking at what appeared to be an abandoned town. But there was something strange about it. It didn’t look like the buildings were naturally deteriorated. No, some were perfect and untouched, while others had walls knocked in or torn down.

Hide tied his horse to a tree and silently walked forwards, coming to the closest damaged house for inspection. From there, he could see how the damage was done. There was no questioning it – those marks were made by kagune. That evidence was only supported by the dark smear of old blood on an interior wall that no one had bothered to clean up.

It would take more than a single ghoul to do this much damage, even for a binge eater. Hide took slow steps away, scanning the rest of the town. He couldn’t see anyone in the open, but something told him he wasn’t alone. He made his way back to his horse silently.

Hide was just starting to untie his horse when a dark shape tackled him into the ground. Hide twisted and turned so he could face whatever tackled him, his eyes widening when he saw two visible kakugan. Hide cursed, driving a forearm up into his attacker’s throat just in time to avoid a bite aimed at his jugular. The ghoul snapped at him again, pushing back against Hide’s arm. Ignoring the drool dripping on his face, Hide reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small razor, swiping at the ghoul’s eyes with it.

The ghoul had the mind to jerk back, but not quick enough. Hide still managed to cut across one of his eyes. He screamed, jerking back and covering the eye that Hide had cut. Hide wasted no time, kicking up and pushing the ghoul off of him. As the ghoul tumbled back, Hide lunged forward and drew his sword. Hide met the ghoul’s uninjured eye as he stared up at him. Then he drove his sword downwards, through the eye and into the brain.

The ghoul stopped moving.  
Hide let out a low, shuddering breath. The ghoul wasn’t dead. To kill a ghoul, they had to be dealt a lower brain injury. Anything too shallow or too high wouldn’t do it for most. They could regenerate it eventually. To kill one, the sword had to be angled slightly down and be driven all the way in.

Hide took a deep breath, drew the sword back, then did just that.

He had to hurry. He didn’t know if anyone had heard their fight, so he had to get out of there. Fast. Hauling the body of the ghoul up, he threw it over his horse, then climbed on behind it. He could secure it later when he was a decent distance away.

With that in mind, he headed towards Anteiku.

~<3<3<3~

Hide knocked on the door to Anteiku, having thrown a spare cloak he had over his clothes to cover the blood from his fight and moving the body. He had his horse hidden in the woods nearby. He was sure Touka wouldn’t appreciate him dragging a body into Anteiku.

Hide was beginning to worry that no one would answer, but after a few more times knocking, there were footsteps and then the door was yanked open. Touka was standing there, glaring, but then her chin lifted and she gave Hide a peculiar look.

“You reek of ghoul. And blood.”

“Probably because I killed one.” Hide fixed her with a steady look. “Look, I think I found the Aogiri hideout. One of the members attacked me. I have the body with me. I need you to come with me to see if you can confirm he was a member of Aogiri.”

Touka stared at him. She didn’t seem angry. She was serious and extremely cautious. “Who are you?”

“I used to be an assassin,” Hide said bluntly. “But right now, I’m just someone trying to help Kaneki.”

Touka continued to stare at him for a few more seconds, then sighed harshly. She turned back into Anteiku. “Nishiki!” She yelled.

After a few moments, he emerged from the back room, his eyebrows raised.

Touka turned back to Hide. “Show us where the body is.”

So Hide showed them. Touka immediately started inspecting the cloak that the ghoul had on. She examined the insignia on the back, sighing softly. It sounded like relief.

“This is the cloak that low level Aogiri members wear.” She glanced at Hide. “So you really found it?”

Hide nodded. “I hope so. They seem to have taken over a town – looks like they killed everyone in it too.”

“How did you find it?” Touka narrowed her eyes at him and Hide debated whether or not to tell the truth.

He sighed. “My family contacted me a few months ago, looking for me to take a hit on Kamishiro Rize.” Touka and Nishiki stiffened. “From what I know, she is a member of Aogiri. I tracked the people being kidnapped to be brought to her as food and was lead there.”

Nishiki snorted. “It’s not much. But it is a fucking good lead.” He glanced at Touka. “We should talk to the manager about mobilizing everyone.”

Touka nodded. “They may already suspect we’re coming, since the idiot killed one of theirs.”

“It’s better than him going back and telling them that they saw me.” Hide shrugged. “When are we leaving?”

“We are not doing anything. I thought I already warned you about staying out of things.” Touka snapped.

“Yeah, and I didn’t. And I managed to find their hideout. Besides, I can take care of myself.” Hide thumbed the hilt of his sword.

Touka frowned and her shoulders sagged. “Fine. Just stay out of our way.” She spun on her heel and Hide barely heard her next words. “Try not to die. Kaneki would be upset if you did. And he would never forgive me.” She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “We’ll probably leave within the next couple hours. You should get whatever you need ready. And you better not slow us down.”

Hide rolled his eyes. “I’ll be traveling as fast as I can.” He had to lead them there anyway. “Can you keep up without a horse?”

“Of course we can.” Touka turned to Nishiki. “Could you go tell everyone to get ready?”

He muttered something crude, then left with a wave. Once he was out of sight, Touka turned to face him.

“Before we go, you should know some things, so that you’re prepared.” She fixed him with a steady stare.

Hide swallowed. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

Touka sighed. “No, you don’t.” She glared up at the sky. “When we first met Kaneki – he had just escaped from Aogiri. He was one of their prisoners a couple of years ago. I don’t know exactly what happened – I just know that he killed a man that went by ‘Jason’ and a few others to escape.” Hide frowned, remembering the name ‘Jason’ from a few assassination requests he was looking over when he was still with the Washuus. If he was correct, then Jason was known for torture. “It’s likely Aogiri took him for revenge, especially since we’ve been interfering with their – er – food deliveries lately. So, I need you to be prepared, for whatever you may see there. And I need you to keep a cool head, especially when we find Kaneki. I don’t know what state he’ll be in when we find him.”

Hide took a deep breath, pushing down the rising nausea. “I’ll be prepared.”

~<3<3<3~

Anteiku had more allies than Hide could have ever imagined. According to Touka, Aogiri had fucked over a lot of ghouls and more than enough wanted to see them obliterated. Kaneki’s kidnapping was just a spark that was thrown into the funeral pyre Aogiri made for themselves.

The members of Anteiku spread out to find Kaneki in Aogiri’s base, Hide included. At most times, Hide tried to avoid confrontation. But when he wasn’t able to, he found – to his surprise – that his opponents weren’t really that difficult. He knew Aogiri had high ranking ghouls – so where were they? Where were the ones that caused Arima to give him such a serious warning?

Hide took a quick glance around. The members Anteiku seemed to be having no issue taking out their opponents either, save for the rare one. He caught Touka’s eye from across the road and he could see his own thoughts mirrored in her confused expression as she sent a ghoul’s head flying.

Something was wrong.

Hide pressed forward, his heart jumping into his throat. He would tear the whole damn place apart if that was what it took to find Kaneki. Scowling, he drew his sword and went to the closest Aogiri member he could see. They were trying to sneak up on Touka and unfortunately for them, had failed. Their chest was littered with projectiles from Touka’s kagune. They sputtered up blood as they attempted to stand again.

“You’re going to tell me what I want to know,” Hide said. He put his foot on their stomach and kicked down, driving some of Touka’s projectiles in deeper. The ghoul shouted in pain, but Hide was beyond caring. He pointed his sword at their face, hovering the tip just above their eye. “Where are you keeping Kaneki Ken?”

The ghoul growled something at him and Hide grit his teeth. He ground his foot into the stomach of the ghoul again, making them gasp.

“Where?”

The ghoul’s eyes darted past Hide. “Kamishiro took him,” they gasped. “South side of town. House with the red door.”

“Thank you.” Hide drove his sword into their skull.

There was a low whistle behind him. “You Washuu are really ruthless, aren’t you?”

Hide glared back at Touka. “Fuck off.”

Touka came to stand beside him. “Don’t think I don’t recognize that crest on your sword.” She glanced up at him. “You’re from the main household?”

“I’m adopted,” Hide bit out. He looked around, getting his bearings. “I’m going to Kaneki. Are you coming?”

He started off without waiting to see if she followed, but was very relieved when she did. They moved through town quickly, Touka tearing through any opponents that went to stop them quicker than Hide could blink. She was truly a force to be reckoned with. Hide thought back to the pitiful little knife he carried around when he was afraid she was going to attack him and realized how screwed he would have been if she actually decided to.

The house with the red door was made sturdier, the walls fortified with stone. Upon closer inspection, the door wasn’t painted so much as it was covered in dried blood. Hide swallowed his worry as he pushed it open, revealing a narrow corridor.

Touka pushed ahead of him, her chin lifted. “I smell blood. Be careful. Rize might be here.”

Hide followed her down the hall until she stopped on front of one of the doors. She paused, then opened it a crack. The next moment, the door burst apart and Touka was thrown back. There was a dull thud as Touka hit the wall, then four long, red kagune emerged from the room, followed by a smirking woman that Hide identified as Kamishiro Rize.

“Silly girl.” She hissed. “You should know better than to fight me as you are.”

Hide winced, remembering that while Ukaku ghouls were vastly superior in speed, they also ran out of stamina quicker because of that. Touka’s previous fights took a lot more out of her than Hide thought. She just barely managed to dodge when Rize went to attack her again.

Hide felt utterly useless as he watched. Rize was much more powerful than he thought. Touka was too. He could hardly keep up with what was going on. The only way he would be able to attack was if he took Rize by surprise. But he could only do that if he got an opening, and Rize moved too fast for him to act on any of the ones he saw.

He growled in frustration as he just barely managed to move out of the way when the battle came towards him, Touka leaping agilely out of the way as Rize advanced. She was relentless with her attacks and quickly closing the distance between her and Touka.

Touka caught Hide’s eye desperately and he knew she was about to do something, he just didn’t know what. Then she leapt forward instead of back, driving a knee into Rize’s stomach and shards of her kagune into Rize’s shoulder, but not without taking one of Rize’s kagune limbs through her stomach.

Both of them fell, Touka on top of Rize. Hide wasted no time darting forward and driving his sword down and into Rize’s eye. But – the angle was wrong. Rize thrashed, screaming in anger and pain. Hide couldn’t hold onto the sword or perform another strike when one of Rize’s kagune took a swipe at him, knocking him back painfully.

Hide groaned, not knowing if he hit the wall or the floor, only knowing that he had to get up. The fight wasn’t over. Except when he opened his eyes – he saw that it was. Touka kneeled over Rize, Hide’s sword in her bloodied hands. Then she drove it down. After a minute, Rize’s struggling stopped.

The sword clattered to the ground and Touka’s hands dropped to her stomach as Rize’s kagune disintegrated. She gritted her teeth, her kakugan flaring. Then she lowered her head and feasted. Hide watched with equal curiosity and horror as Touka’s flesh slowly knitted back together.

After a few minutes she sat back, looking ill. Hide approached her cautiously. “Are you doing okay?”

“Do I look like I’m doing okay?” She growled, shaking her head. “I’ll live. You?”

“Nothing that won’t take a few good weeks to heal.” He picked up his sword, wiping most of the blood off on his robe. “Are you good to keep going?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get Kaneki and get the fuck out of here.”

She stood up, refusing to lean on Hide. She leaned on the wall instead as she went into the room that Rize had come out of. It was bare, all except a figure curled up in the middle of the floor.

“Kaneki.” Hide gasped out. He looked terrible. His clothes were torn and covered in blood and worst of all, he was covered in bite marks – not yet healed. His eyes were closed, but Hide could see that he was in pain, even if he wasn’t conscious. Hide rushed towards him.

“Wait –“

But Touka’s call was too late. As Hide knelt and touched Kaneki’s shoulder, he felt him violently jerk. The next thing Hide knew he was on his back and Kaneki’s teeth were buried in his shoulder. He was too surprised to even register the pain at first.

“Kaneki – no!” Then he was torn off Hide and Touka was shouting at him. “Get out of here. Find something he can eat. Fast.”

In a daze, Hide stood and stumbled out of the room, a hand pressed against his bleeding shoulder. It throbbed and even as he walked away, he could still hear Touka trying to reason with Kaneki.

But there was no reasoning with a hungry ghoul. Food. Hide needed food. It was the only time Rize being a binge eater was actually helpful.

Hide searched all the other rooms in the house, knowing he found the right one when he opened the door and immediately recoiled from the lingering smell. It seemed like it was cleaned out recently, since there wasn’t much left, but Hide still managed to retrieve a half-eaten leg that only looked a day or two old. Hopefully, it would do.

With that in mind, he returned to the room where Touka and Kaneki were. He wordlessly threw the leg within Touka’s reach, careful not to get to close. Then he stepped out again, leaning his back against a wall and closing his eyes. The only thing he could hear after a few long moments was the sound of Kaneki desperately eating.

They must have starved him, to keep him weak. And not only that, but they fed on him as well. Hide felt like gagging. Tears sprung to his eyes and he did what he could to keep them from falling. If he was quicker at finding Aogiri, then maybe Kaneki wouldn’t have been in such bad shape.

“He wants to see you.” Touka’s voice made him jump. “Be kind, okay?” She spoke softly, so that Kaneki couldn’t hear.

Hide nodded. He stepped into the room, having to remind himself to slow down and not tackle Kaneki into a hug. He saw Kaneki sitting there, staring at his blood covered hands and he knew he had to approach him slowly. The slightest wind looked like it could have knocked him over.

“Hey,” Hide murmured, taking a seat next to him. His uninjured shoulder was closest to Kaneki, so Hide didn’t hesitate to brush it gently against Kaneki’s. Kaneki stiffened at the contact, but at the next moment relaxed and leaned against Hide, letting him bear some of his weight.

They sat in silence until Kaneki reached up, brushing his fingers just below where he bit Hide early. Hide did his best not to wince.

“It’s not that bad,” Hide quickly said. “I’ve had worse.”

Which was apparently not the right thing to say since Kaneki’s eyes filled with tears. “Not the worst, huh?” Hide stayed still as Kaneki looked him over, his eyes finally stopping on Hide’s sword. “Fucking hell, Hide.”

“I…” Hide wanted to explain. He wanted to do that desperately, but Kaneki shook his head sharply.

“Don’t talk. Stay. Just stay.”

So Hide did just that. He stayed with Kaneki until Touka told them that the Aogiri ghouls had been eliminated and that it was time to leave. To go home. By that time, Kaneki was sound asleep, exhaustion seeming to have caught up to him.

Hide rode with him on the horse on the way back. He woke a few times for a few moments during the ride, jerking awake at random moments. But he always relaxed when Hide reached down to squeeze his hand and whisper that everything was okay. He was safe. They were heading home.

When they got there, Hide helped Kaneki right into bed, deciding to clean him up as much as he could with a towel and some warm water while he rested. Touka hovered the whole time and helped occasionally. Hide was halfway through cleaning Kaneki’s left arm when he froze.

Touka glanced over in question.

“What we fought tonight wasn’t all of Aogiri’s forces,” he stated. “It was only low members and the occasional higher member. There was no way this was Aogiri’s only base.”

Touka shook her head. “I don’t get it. Tsukiyama said that they were set up to sustain a much larger number of ghouls than what we found there. The number of beds and houses that were recently in use… it just doesn’t make sense.”

“What if there used to be more living there? But they would have left for a reason… do you think they knew they were going to be attacked?”

“If they knew, then wouldn’t they have been more prepared to defend themselves against us?”

Hide frowned, remembering some of Arima’s words. “I have something I need to confirm. I…” Hide put his washcloth down, staring at Kaneki. “It shouldn’t take long. Maybe a couple day. When he wakes up, make sure he knows I’m coming back.”

~<3<3<3~

“Hello, Takatsuki.” Hide stood on the familiar doorstep, staring at the green-haired woman critically.

She smiled. “Hideyoshi. I wasn’t expecting you. Do you want to step inside?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Hide smiled back, knowing it didn’t look honest at all. “Last time I was here, you told me to stop by if I was in the area, so I did.”

“I suppose,” she murmured, scratching her head and rustling her messy hair. “Did you find anything of interest in your travels?” She sat at her regular spot at her table.

“A few things.” Hide sat across from her. “A few things I would like to ask you about, actually.”

“Oh?” Takatsuki rested her chin in her palm. “Please do.”

“Why was I attacked immediately after I left your residence last time? Specifically, I was kidnapped to be brought to the very person that Arima asked me to assassinate.” Takatsuki’s expression only became more amused as Hide went on. “See, I suspect you were the one who had me attacked, after all, it seemed I was attacked specifically, since a ghoul was sent to subdue me, and you were the only one who knew where I was at that time. So, I was wondering, why you were so personally invested in the assassination? Was it you who originally sent Arima the request?”

“Of course.” Takatsuki’s smile widened, becoming more feral. “After all, Rize’s behavior is bad for business and there are too many people in my organization loyal to her for me to kill her myself. However, if an unknown assassin were to do it – the backlash would be minimal to myself. And – Arima would owe me a favour for getting you back into the family business. And Arima’s favours are… priceless. In addition, it didn’t hurt that you let your friends take care of my other problem subjects. I really have to thank them, for cleaning up the mess. Your assistance, as well as theirs, was much appreciated.”

Hide blinked. “You left them there purposely, to let them be slaughtered.”

Her eyes narrowed. Then a single one – not both – turned black and red, veins becoming visible around her eye. “Of course. They were more trouble than they were worth and would only cause me more in the future.”

Hide breathed. In and out. He tried to remain calm and keep his voice from shaking, but failed utterly. “I… may not go traveling for some time. My apologies, but I’m afraid I won’t be coming back with any goods any time soon.” And hopefully he would never see her again, either.

“I suppose you won’t.” Takatsuki sat back, deactivating her kakugan. “Then I must thank you. Your performance has been invaluable. I hope to see you again, Washuu Hideyoshi.”

Hide left and didn’t look back. He had somewhere else to go. Somewhere where he hoped he could settle down, get a normal job – at least by his definition – anything without killing was good. But ideally – it was something he could do to stay with Kaneki. If Kaneki would take him back after everything.

Whether or not Kaneki would take him back… it was the only thing Hide could think about as he mounted his horse and headed towards Kaneki’s. It was a long ride – but it felt like a week when Hide got there the next day, his stomach twisted with nerves as he opened the familiar sliding door, hearing the jingle of the chimes hanging from it. There was no one behind the counter, but Hide heard the approaching footsteps from the forge. Of course, only Kaneki would try to get back to work so early. Kaneki stepped through the doorway, freezing halfway through when he saw Hide.

Hide stood there, dressed in the same clothing he was when he helped rescue Kaneki – except for the fact that he was cleaned off blood. Hide wanted to face him as he was – as he used to be – he couldn’t run from it any longer. Kaneki knew – and Hide wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t.

Kaneki stood there with his apron on. He was probably back at work already, even after everything had happened. Kaneki’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, his voice surprisingly quiet when he spoke. “I wasn’t expecting you to come back…”

“Of course I did.” Hide shrugged. “I asked Touka to tell you that I would.” Hide stepped around the counter, then leaned against it beside Kaneki, staring at his shoes. “I had some business to do. Sold my home and everything. Figured it was about time for a change.” Hide glanced at Kaneki’s hopeful expression before he continued. “I’m looking for a place to live now. Maybe I’ll buy a place. Close by, hopefully. If you still want me to stay.”

Kaneki stared at him, his eyes sad and hopeful at the same time. “Stay with me,” he whispered. “You… could live here.”

Hide hoped to hear those words, but for Kaneki to actually offer… “Of course I will.” Hide was so happy. “I didn’t think you would want me to be around. You know, me being…” Hide gestured to himself. “Me, and everything. I didn’t know if you would – hate me for what I’ve done.” Hide’s throat started to close and he couldn’t say anymore.

Kaneki smiled and made a noise that could have been a laugh or a sob as he reached for Hide’s hand. “As if I couldn’t accept you. I…” Kaneki shook his head and took one of Hide’s hands, his fingers pressed against Hide’s palm gently. “I’m me too.”

Hide clasped Kaneki’s hand tightly, smiling. Kaneki stepped forward, about to gather Hide into a hug, but stopped suddenly and spoke in a quiet voice.

“You’ll stay here with me… you really will?”

“I’d love to.” Hide gave Kaneki’s hand another squeeze.

Kaneki’s face softened and he stepped closer to Hide, reaching up to cup his face. Kaneki paused there, looking uncertain, glancing down from Hide’s eyes to his lips.

Hide couldn’t help but smile and spoke, even though he was choked. “You’re not going to make me wait all day, are you?”

Kaneki froze, then huffed a laugh. He let go of Hide’s hand in favour of cupping Hide’s other cheek as well. Kaneki leaned forward, pressing his lips to Hide’s forehead before kissing him on the lips. Kaneki was gentle, but firm, and all Hide could think was that he wanted them to be closer. He curled an arm around Kaneki’s waist and leaned back, deciding that being squished between Kaneki and the counter was right where he wanted to be.

Kaneki drew back after a few moments, just a breath away, his eyes wet with tears. “You’ll really stay?”

“Really.” Hide moved forward, closed the inch between them and gently kissed him again.

Kaneki pulled away after a few moments, his face twisting with pain so much that it reminded him of when Hide found him curled up on the floor. He pressed his fingers against Hide’s shoulder, tears starting to run down his cheeks. “Thank you.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Hide’s injured shoulder as well, then rested his head against Hide’s chest.

Hide took that moment to dig into his pocket, pulling out the dark necklace he had admired just a couple of weeks ago. He pulled back slightly so that he could put it around Kaneki’s neck. Kaneki blinked, sniffling and wiping the tears from his cheeks with a palm. He stared down at the necklace resting against his chest, seeming confused.

“It’s a gift.” Hide smiled. “Aren’t you supposed to get the people you love presents – or something like that?” Hide rubbed the back of his head. He hoped Kaneki wouldn’t hate it.

Kaneki looked up at Hide, then down at the necklace again. ‘Love’, he mouthed to himself. Then he smiled and laughed quietly, though it was still a little wet sounding. “Then I guess I should get you something too.”

“I already have everything I want in the world.”

“You’re so silly.” Kaneki ducked the kiss Hide tried to give him, smiling. “How about I just make some dinner?”

Hide perked up at that. “Dinner does sound good.”

Kaneki stepped a little away from him, holding out his hand. Hide took it.

**Author's Note:**

> Please drop a comment on your way out! <3


End file.
